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Perhaps surprisingly, many social workers appear to use intercessory prayer in direct practice settings. To help inform practitioners' use of this intervention, this article evaluates the empirical literature on the topic using the following three methods: (a) an individual assessment of each study, (b) an evaluation of intercessory prayer as an empirically supported intervention using criteria developed by Division 12 of the American Psychological Association (APA), and (c) a meta-analysis. Based on the Division 12 criteria, intercessory prayer was classified as an experimental intervention. Meta-analysis indicated small, but significant, effect sizes for the use of intercessory prayer (g =–.171, p =.015). The implications are discussed in light of the APA's Presidential Task Force on Evidence-based Practice.

Many minority adolescents in the United States today are at a high risk for truancy, dropout, and academic under-achievement. Truancy is related to a host of preceding and subsequent risks such as delinquency and limited vocational outcomes. Using participatory research methods, this federally funded, 10-month study assessed youths' perceptions of a publicly funded, faith-based, alternative education program with 73 minority youth participants who were at risk for truancy. The study assessed whether change occurred in peer dynamics, youths' use of time, and educational aspirations. The program was found to have a positive impact on peer dynamics and the use of both school hours and free time. The program supported or did not hamper educational aspiration. Implications about the impact of alternative education programs for at-risk youth and the faith-based nature of the program are discussed.

English Human rights are a central social work concern. Little attention, however, has been paid to the right to religious freedom called by some the forgotten human right delineated in Article 18 of the Declaration. Given increasing religious persecution around the world, this represents a significant oversight. Accordingly, this article suggests strategies for promoting religious freedom and ameliorating religious oppression. French Les droits de la personne sont une préoccupation clé du travail social. Toutefois, on a porté peu d'attention au droit de la liberté de religion que certains qualifient de droit de l'homme oublié évoqué à l'article 18 de la Déclaration. Si l'on tient compte du phénomène croissant de la persécution religieuse à l'échelle de la planète, l'oubli est significatif. Pour pallier ce manque, cette recherche propose des stratégies visant la promotion de la liberté religieuse et la réduction des oppressions dans ce domaine. Spanish Una preocupación central del trabajo social son los derechos humanos. Se ha prestado poca atención, sin embargo, al derecho de libertad religiosa llamada por algunos 'el derecho humano olvidado' - delineado en Artículo 18 de la Declaración. Dado el aumento mundial de persecución religiosa, esto representa un descuido significativo. En este ensayo sugiere estrategias para promover la libertad religiosa y disminuir la opresión.

Cultural competence, including more focused forms of cultural competence such as spiritual competence, has been a topic of increasing professional attention over the past decade. Yet, while cultural competence is increasingly viewed as essential to effective service provision, few measure of cultural competence exist. To address the gap, the present study validates a new population-specific measure of spiritual competence with a random national sample of faith-based graduate students. Analysis suggests the eight item scale is a valid and reliable measure of spiritual competence. The instrument is designed to assess levels of competence in educational programs, but with modification it can be used in agency settings, or for individual self-assessment.

Increasing recognition exists for the vital role of spirituality in the lives of many clients, yet relatively few assessment instruments have been developed. This article presents a new assessment instrument—the spiritual ecogram—that taps information in space and across time. In addition to combining the assessment strengths of spiritual ecomaps and genograms in a single diagrammatic instrument, ecograms depict the connections between past and present functioning. Historical influences on current systems can be seen as well as current relationships to historical influences. This article also includes a case example, information on conducting a spiritually competent assessment, and a discussion of some spiritual interventions that flow from ecograms.

In spite of increased interest in spirituality, the concept of a spiritual assessment remains a questionable practice in the eyes of many social workers. This paper
develops five rationales to underscore the importance of including spirituality in assessment. These reasons can be summarized as follows: spiritual assessment provides
insight into clients' world views, serves as a vehicle to identify strengths, and
demonstrates respect for client autonomy. In addition, the profession's ethics implicitly
recommend the administration of a spiritual assessment and, for a growing
number of accrediting organizations and agencies, it is explicitly recommended.This
paper concludes by discussing the implications for practitioners and educators.

Cultural competency with people of faith is stipulated in the profession's ethical standards. Yet, in spite of growing interest in spirituality and religion, a paucity of material has appeared in the literature with the express purpose of developing cultural competency with evangelical Christians, the nation's largest spiritual minority. To address this gap in the literature, salient aspects of the Evangelical cultural narrative are reviewed, which in turn provides the context for a discussion of various practice interventions. More specifically, information is presented on general practice suggestions, clinically oriented spiritual interventions, strategies for school social workers, and national and international social justice issues of concern to all social workers.

Spirituality often plays a central role in helping people with mental illness cope and recover. Assessment provides a vehicle for understanding and utilizing clients' spiritual strengths, and, consequently, practitioners are increasingly asked to conduct a spiritual assessment. For example, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), a major healthcare accrediting agency, now recommends that a spiritual assessment be conducted. This article provides a framework for an initial spiritual assessment that complies with the recent JCAHO (2002) recommendations. Suggestions for spiritually competent practice are provided, including guidelines for discerning authentic spiritual experiences from manifestations of mental illness that reflect spiritual content. The article concludes by reviewing a number of spiritual interventions that may flow from a spiritual assessment.

Social workers' growing interest in spirituality implicitly raises the issue of spiritual diversity. Demographic data indicate that the profession is not reflective of the larger society, with theistic populations such as Evangelical Christians being significantly underrepresented. As social workers wrestle with how to integrate spirituality and religion into social work, the lack of theistic voices may hinder their ability to understand the unique worldviews of Evangelicals and other theists. Indeed, the nontheistic majority may inadvertently shape the profession's emerging spirituality paradigm in such a manner that actually impairs social workers' ability to work with spiritual minorities. The author concludes by examining how the underrepresentation affects clients and suggests a number of steps to facilitate a more diverse profession that fosters respect for spiritual minorities.